Deadline's Here to Appeal City Property Taxes

Drop-offs are accepted April 1

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Philadelphia homeowners have until today to appeal their new property tax assessements.

The City of Philadelphia is accepting first level review requests from homeowners through Monday, April 1.

The posted deadline is March 31, but according to city spokesman Mark McDonald, Ritchie McKeithen of the Office of Property Assessment informed City Council on Tuesday that because the deadline falls on Easter Sunday, the city will still accept first level review paperwork on Monday.

Some homeowners are outraged over their new property tax assessments, because they expect the higher assessments to mean higher property taxes.

Homeowners who file a first level review can anticipate a response by "sometime in August," said McDonald.

"If someone doesn’t avail themselves of this internal, first level review with OPA, they still have the right to appeal their assessment. They have until October 7 to file an appeal with the Board of Revision of Taxes," said McDonald.

To date, the city has received about 21,600 first level review requests out of 579,000 properties. That is pacing significantly under what the city was expecting.

McKeithen told City Council that assessment offices predicts up to 10 percent of property owners will appeal, which would be about 58,000 for Philadelphia. By Monday, McKeithen said there could be as many as 30,000.

For the first time, in 2014, homeowners are eligible for a $30,000 homestead exemption. To apply, visit here. Property taxes are due by March 31, 2014.

Got questions? Homeowners can call the Office of Property Assessment hotline at 215-686-9200.

In this embedded map from AxisPhilly.org, you can put in an address and see how much your property taxes will change with the tax rate that Mayor Nutter has proposed, along with the $15,000 Homestead Exemption.